Could fans be seeing Richard Rider join the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Marvel Studios has officially confirmed a Nova project is in development.
Aside from the characters that Marvel Studios hasn’t had the rights to for the past few decades, Nova is one of the biggest characters yet to make their debut in the MCU. Fans have been begging for any hints at Richard Rider ever since the Nova Corps made their debut in Guardians of the Galaxy, hoping the character would helm his own series of space-faring adventures.
Now it seems that fans are getting their wish. During a recent interview with the Phase Zero podcast, Marvel Studios’ head of streaming, animation, and television Brad Winderbaum spoke on the quantity of projects that are in development for the MCU. He revealed that he always loved the character of Richard Rider, and that a Nova project is in very early development.
“We love Nova. We are in really early development on Nova,” Winderbaum explained. “We have a new system behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios. We’re more like a traditional studio now. We’re developing more than we actually will produce.”
“There are plans to develop Nova. I love Nova, too. I love Rich Rider, too.” He continued. “I hope it gets to the screen. The world is always chaos. There’s always things. You gotta conjure these things to make them happen but I would love to see a Nova show, one day.”
This isn’t the first fans have heard about a potential Nova project in the pipeline at Marvel Studios. Back in 2022, it was reported that Moon Knight writer Sabir Pirzada was attached to the project. More recently, back in January, it was revealed that Ryan Gosling was in talks to play Nova in the MCU.
It’s currently unclear if Marvel Studios’ Nova project would be a Disney Plus show or a movie. While previous rumors have suggested Richard Rider would take his adventures to the world of streaming, Disney’s recent moves to focus on “quality over quantity” in the MCU may suggest a big screen debut, especially with a high-profile actor like Ryan Gosling attached.
Marvel Confirms Two Projects Still Headed To Disney Plus
Nova isn’t the only project that was recently confirmed to be in the works for Marvel Studios. With a recent string of projects being canceled by major companies like Warner Bros. Discovery, fans have worried that some MCU projects silently got the axe, specifically Disney Plus shows.
The two main shows said to be up for cancellation were Ironheart and Wonder Man, with the former having no word on its release despite initial filming happening all the way back in 2022. This lack of news has led many fans to worry that Marvel Studios has no plan to release either show. Luckily, Brad Winderbaum confirmed both projects are still set to release in the near future of the MCU.
“Yeah, absolutely. We’re editing both of those shows as we speak.” He told Agents of Fandom. “They’re spectacular, they’re amazing, and they’re different…We’re able to explore corners of the universe that are really exciting. Riri Williams is one of them, and I cannot wait for people to meet Simon Williams.”
It’s interesting that he confirmed Wonder Man is also editing, suggesting filming for the Disney Plus series has concluded. The project was one of the many productions delayed by the Hollywood strikes, having only started last April in the eyes of the public, with the project still filming as of this February.
There’s still no confirmed window for when Ironheart or Wonder Man will drop on Disney Plus. However, it’s good to hear that Marvel Studios is still willing to go to bat for new and interesting characters on Disney Plus. Many fans have worried recent comments by Disney concerning focusing on “core franchises” would spell the end for the age of experimentation in the MCU, but it seems as though there’s still a little bit left to go!
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